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Mississippi to Create Special Justice System for Just One City: Majority-Black Jackson

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:55 GMT

Mississippi’s Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has until Friday to sign a bill that would create a separate police force and court system for Jackson, the state’s capital city. The bill is controversial for its subversion of local control and for its construction of a system in which white state officials will appoint the people in charge of the criminal justice system in a majority-Black city.Hinds County, which includes Jackson, would become the only municipality in the state that doesn’t elect its own prosecutors and judges.“We are finding ourselves jumping back to days of Jim Crow, days of apartheid.”The bill is an extension of efforts to control and undermine the voices of the Black people who live in Jackson, said Rukia Lumumba, co-director of the Movement for Black Lives’ Electoral Justice Project and a candidate in the upcoming Democratic primary for a state House seat just north of Jackson.“We are finding ourselves jumping back to days of Jim Crow, days of apartheid,” she said, ...

Jan. 6 suspect charged with firing gun toward Texas officers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:55 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas man who agreed to surrender on charges from taking part in the U.S. Capitol riot but later that day fired a gun toward sheriff’s deputies who went to his house in response to a welfare call, federal prosecutors said Thursday.Nathan Donald Pelham, 40, allegedly fired the shots from his rural home on April 12, the same day he was told he was charged with four misdemeanors for allegedly participating in the Jan. 6 attack. Officers heard bullets “whiz” past them and hit objects nearby, according to an affidavit from an FBI agent. The deputies left without making an arrest, according to court records. The Justice Department said no law enforcement officers were injured. An attorney for Pelham, who was arrested Tuesday, did not immediately return a message seeking comment. The episode is an outlier in the more than 1,000 federal arrests that have been made in the Jan. 6 riot. Practically all of the arrests have been made without incident, including those...

1 dead, 3 injured after fire in New Bedford

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:55 GMT

One person died and three others were injured after a fire broke out in a home in New Bedford Thursday, state and local officials announced. The state Department of Fire Services said New Bedford firefighters first responded to the home on Chestnut Street after receiving calls around 1:40 a.m. Officials said firefighters were able to rescue two older adults from the house. Both people were taken to a hospital, where one of them was pronounced dead. Officials said the other person was in critical condition as of Thursday evening. Officials said several other people were able to escape the building on their own, though two of them were also taken to a hospital. “This is a devastating tragedy for a whole family,” New Bedford Fire Chief Scott Kruger said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with them and their loved ones right now.”The Department of Fire Services said working smoke alarms in the house “may have helped prevent an even greater tragedy.” The cause of ...

Run, pass, special teams: Nets defensive scheme is working, but not winning games

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:55 GMT

The Nets have taken away the run and the pass, but have lost Games 1 and 2 of their first-round playoff matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers on special teams.And they’re OK with that.Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn likes to use a football analogy to describe his defensive game plan against a stacked Sixers team headlined by presumptive league Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid and former MVP James Harden.Embiid and Harden — namely the damage the duo does at the foul line — are the run and the pass. Philadelphia’s complementary players are the special teams.And the returns have been positive: Embiid hasn’t come close to his season average against the Nets this series despite dominating them in regular-season play over the years. And after Harden pelted the Nets for seven threes in Brooklyn’s 20-point loss in Game 1 in Philly, the Nets held him to just 3-of-13 shooting from the field and two-of-eight shooting from behind the arc for eight points.Both ...

Tornadoes kill 3 in Oklahoma; new storms possible Thursday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:55 GMT

By KEN MILLER and JAMIE STENGLE (Associated Press)DALLAS (AP) — Tornadoes plowed through Oklahoma during another deadly spring storm in the U.S., killing at least three people and damaging dozens of homes in a hard-hit rural town. Forecasters warned Thursday that more severe weather was still possible. A day after at least eight tornadoes spun through Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt said authorities were still assessing the scale of destruction and injuries. He toured the aftermath in Shawnee, where nearly every building on the campus of Oklahoma Baptist University showed damage. A home improvement store was destroyed, but several people sheltering inside survived. Two long-term care facilities and a hospital were also damaged there.“The damage is unbelievable when you walk through there,” Stitt said after touring the city.Stitt also toured the small town of Cole, where he said two people died and 50 to 100 homes were damaged. Authorities said a third person who was inj...

Celtics’ Malcolm Brogdon wins NBA’s sixth man of the year award

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:55 GMT

When the Celtics traded for Malcolm Brogdon last July, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens had to be up front with the veteran guard.Brogdon had been a starter for most of his first six seasons in the NBA. But the Celtics had a specific idea with him. They didn’t need a starter, or for Brogdon to be a top option. Their NBA Finals run exposed a need for a playmaker off the bench, and they viewed Brogdon as the perfect fit.“They told me straight up, you’re going to come off the bench,” Brogdon recalled on TNT Thursday night. “We have a formula here, we have something that works. We think you can be a key piece and really help us, but your role is going to be coming off the bench, and I chose to embrace it.”Brogdon, after a few underwhelming, injury-riddled seasons with the Pacers, saw it as an opportunity to join a championship team, and still be a major contributor. He not only embraced the sacrificial role, but excelled in it. On Thursday, Brogdon was recognized as the N...

After ‘ladies’ controversy in Easthampton, second superintendent finalist withdraws amid students reporting ‘conservative transphobic’ Facebook posts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:55 GMT

After the top pick for Easthampton’s superintendent lost his job offer when he used the term “ladies” in an email, the second choice for the district has withdrawn herself from running the school system amid students reporting her past Facebook posts.The Easthampton School Committee is back to the drawing board following this latest chapter in the chaotic search for a new leader of the school district.Erica Faginski-Stark, the director of Curriculum and Instruction at Ludlow Public Schools, is no longer in line to take over as superintendent.On the night that the School Committee voted to not re-enter contract negotiations with first pick Vito Perrone and to instead offer the job to Faginski-Stark, students emailed the Easthampton mayor about their “extreme concerns” with the second choice.“Under the belief that this is her Facebook account, she has posted conservative transphobic rhetoric a multitude of times,” the students wrote to Mayor N...

Boston COVID wastewater, cases and hospitalizations drop, Massachusetts virus cases down 21%

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:55 GMT

Boston’s COVID wastewater, cases and hospitalizations keep dropping, as state health officials on Thursday also reported declining virus cases and patients.Data from the Boston Public Health Commission’s wastewater surveillance program shows that the number of COVID particles in the wastewater plunged 25% over the past week. The wastewater data helps predict virus waves and lulls in the community.In the city, the number of new COVID cases decreased 11% over the past week. The seven-day average of new virus cases is now 2.2 cases per 100,000. That’s a 34% drop over the last two weeks.Also, the weekly total for new COVID hospital admissions in Boston was 66 patients, a 19% decline from the previous week.Related ArticlesHealth | Biobot, the Cambridge company monitoring Boston-area COVID wastewater, will start tracking norovirus Health | Boston-area COVID data keeps falling, Massachusetts virus cases down 15% Health | Howie Ca...

Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks says he is cancer-free after undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:55 GMT

Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks announced he is cancer-free in an Instagram post Thursday.“It’s official. I’m cancer free,” Hendriks wrote.Hendriks began treatment in January for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Before the April 3 home opener against the San Francisco Giants, he announced in a recorded message on the video board he was beginning his last round of chemotherapy.A couple of days later, Hendriks thanked family, friends and fans in an Instagram post that included a video of the Sox closer ringing the bell.On Friday, Sox general manager Rick Hahn said of Hendriks: “You get caught up in the competitiveness, you get caught up in the slow start or injuries, you can always find something to be a little frustrated and disappointed about this game if you let it, but with Liam, he’s helped all of us sort of take a broader view about what’s important on a day-to-day basis.“And at the same time, we’ve seen him not lose an ounce of ...

Max Scherzer suspended 10 games following ejection for excessive sticky stuff

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:55 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — After getting ejected for his hand being too sticky Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, Max Scherzer is well aware of what people are calling him right now: A cheater. Largely considered a first-ballot Hall of Famer, Scherzer understands that a cheating allegation could put that future candidacy in doubt and it undermines his integrity as an honest competitor.Scherzer was suspended for 10 games, the league announced Thursday, for “violating the prohibitions on foreign substances.” He confirmed that he is appealing the decision.MLB’s intent to crack down on sticky stuff is right but many players — including Scherzer — say the execution is flawed. This is the first time a pitcher of this magnitude has been ejected for a foreign substance. The other two, Hector Santiago and Caleb Smith, were tossed in 2021, shortly after the league started instructing umpires to do random checks. All were ejected by umpire Phil Cuzzi.“Every aspect of t...